Official: Local business, people key to revitalizing Georgian Place

And Bass is in the process of lacing up its shoes and heading out of town.

The big names and marketing can't keep these national retailers open at Georgian Place in Somerset, but new owner Sugar Oak Fund Management, LLC, plans to change that.

"Our success is driven by our acceptance into the marketplace," said SugarOak president Dan Baker in a telephone interview from his Herndon, Va., offices yesterday. SugarOak purchased the outlet center last week.

"I think the companies and businesses that bring this back are local business and local people. We need to become involved with the community and help them with their business from a property perspective," he said.

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SugarOak intends to have a mix of national and local retailers to make it a "friendly environment." It also hopes to attract local doctors and financial vendors who may want to have offices there.

The company has good intentions but admits to being cautious in their approach.

"There are no guarantees. We are stubborn and our attitude is that we may not know today how the property will evolve, but we will stay with it until it is filled back up," said Baker. "We think it's one of those situations where the previous owner wasn't in a place to do much and get it going again. We can come in and be thoughtful and aggressive with what we might be able to do with it," he said.

Georgian Place Property Manager Tonya Spangler plans to develop a large co-op marketing plan with merchants to drive business to the outlet center.

She also plans to coordinate events that used to be held at the center including a spring antique show, homebuilder's show and antique festival, all scheduled for 2005.

"I think the first thing is they will be focused on redeveloping the property rather than the sale of property," she said. "In transition, that will be a great thing."

Currently, there are 26 tenants at the outlet center that occupy 52 percent of the 189,532 square feet available, she said.

Of those 26, only eight tenants are original stores from when the outlet mall opened in 1990. Last year, 10 new stores opened and eight closed, she said.

SugarOak also plans to make some physical changes to the property including removing some buildings and adding additional parking to make access into the courtyard easier, said Baker.

"Having the parking closer would be a big help. I think there are some things to be done to make the wind less of an issue too," he said.

Jon Knupp, manager of The Inn at Georgian Place, is excited about the new business venture.

"I think the sale of the shopping center is very positive. The group that's going to be involved has a plan that's good for the community and good for the inn," he said.

Business picks up this time of year as many groups are having Christmas parties now, said Knupp. They'll get more people once it starts snowing in the area and skiers come into town, he said.

"Weather definitely affects us. It depends on ski traffic. Lots of snow brings people at the inn," said Knupp of the business that also operates as a bed and breakfast.

Baker said SugarOak is in discussions with one restaurant that may be interested in opening at Georgian Place, but he doubts whether any major chains will be interested in coming at this point.

"The restaurant business is one of the toughest businesses there is. From a restaurant perspective it would probably be difficult to attract a (national) chain because of the (low) occupancy level," he said.